Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
2 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> NATIONAL MENTORING MONTH <br /> PROCLAMATION <br /> WHEREAS, the people of Orange County honor caring adult mentors who support <br /> young people by showing up for them every day and demonstrating their commitment to <br /> helping them thrive; and <br /> WHEREAS, mentoring programs such as MENTOR North Carolina make our local <br /> communities, our state and our nation stronger; and <br /> WHEREAS, quality mentoring promotes healthy relationships and communication, <br /> positive self-esteem and growth of a young person; and <br /> WHEREAS, students who meet regularly with their mentors are more than fifty-two <br /> percent [52%] less likely than their peers to skip a day of school, and youth who face an <br /> opportunity gap and have a mentor are fifty-five percent [55%] more likely to be enrolled <br /> in college than those who had no mentor; and <br /> WHEREAS, youth who regularly meet with their mentors are forty-six percent [46%] less <br /> likely than their peers to start using drugs and twenty-seven percent [27%] less likely to <br /> start drinking alcoholic beverages; and <br /> WHEREAS, two-thirds of adults consider it highly important for young people to have <br /> mentors, and that same population estimates that only a quarter of youth have the <br /> mentors they need; and <br /> WHEREAS, research shows that forty-four percent [44%] of adults not yet mentoring <br /> are willing to consider mentoring, and that mentoring is poised for growth; and <br /> WHEREAS, almost half of young adults today report having a mentor in their youth and <br /> those rates appear to have been rising steadily over the past several decades; and <br /> WHEREAS, National Mentoring Month is the time of year where engagement from <br /> community members interested in becoming a mentor is highest; <br /> NOW, THEREFORE, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners does hereby <br /> proclaim January 2020 as National Mentoring Month in Orange County, and <br /> encourages all residents to take this opportunity to celebrate, elevate and encourage <br /> mentoring in communities across the county. <br /> This the 21S` day of January 2020. <br /> Penny Rich, Chair <br /> Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />